The Ridge by Michael Koryta

In an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods. For years the lighthouse has been considered no more than an eccentric local landmark-until its builder is found dead at the top of the light, and his belongings reveal a troubling local history.

For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, the lighthouse-keeper's death is disturbing and personal. Years ago, Kimble was shot while on duty. Somehow the death suggests a connection between the lighthouse and the most terrifying moment of his life.

Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther are about to have a new home there. Her husband, the sanctuary's founder, died scouting the new property, and Audrey is determined to see his vision through.

As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.

The Ridge is the new thriller from international bestseller Michael Koryta, further evidence of why Dean Koontz has said "Michael Koryta's work resonates into deeper strata than does most of what I read" and why Michael Connelly has named him "one of the best of the best."

While still in high school, Michael Koryta worked as a newspaper reporter and for a private investigator. His first book, Tonight I Said Goodbye, was published when he was twenty-one years old and an undergraduate at Indiana University. It won the Great Lakes Book Award for best mystery. Envy the Night won the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery/thriller. He is the author of the Lincoln Perry series and teaches at the Indiana University School of Journalism.

Unrated Critic Reviews for The Ridge

Kirkus Reviews

A strange request, perhaps, but Wyatt was a strange man, who for unspecified reasons built a lighthouse miles away from the sea and even equipped it with ultraviolet beams when his new neighbors at the big-cat rescue center complained that its light upset their animals.

Los Angeles Times

French rambles about needing help on the mountain and the necessity of reporting the story of Kimble's prison visits, a story that somehow relates to Darmus' parents' death in an automobile accident on Blade Ridge Road.

MostlyFiction Book Reviews

Bookmarks Magazine

The Ridge is the new thriller from international bestseller Michael Koryta, further evidence of why Dean Koontz has said "Michael Koryta's work resonates into deeper strata than does most of what I read" and why Michael Connelly has named him "one of the best of the best."

The Christian Manifesto

Shots

The deputy sheriff is secretly in love with the woman he tried to rescue from her abusive husband, but who shot him…
So, Kimble and Darmus are tipped into exploring the strange events around Blade Ridge, where deep forest surrounds the weird lighthouse and an old trestle bridge.